Movie Review: Crow Hollow (1952)

A review of the 1952 mystery starring Natasha Parry and Donald Houston.

Synopsis: Newly-wed Ann moves into a mansion that has been in her husband's family for generations. The house is also occupied by her husband's three elderly aunts and their maid, Willow. While none of them are rude to her, Ann has a hard time feeling welcome in her new home. And, after a series of accidents, believes someone is trying to kill her. Is it just in her imagination? Or, is her life in danger?

Who's In It?

Review

I came across this movie while home for lunch earlier today and, thinking it sounded somewhat interesting, decided to take the time to watch it. Since I had never heard of the film before, I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. However, it turned out to be a fun mystery to watch.

The thing I liked about this film is, unlike many other mysteries I've watched, there weren't any favorites as far as suspects go. Since none of the aunts were too thrilled to see Ann (Parry), it could easily be any of them. Plus, there were were other suspects, including the beautiful Willow (Owens), who seemed to have a thing for Ann's husband, Robert (Houston) and the gardener (Meadows White), who seemed friendly but was always conveniently around.

At one point, I even found myself suspecting her new friend, Diana (Melissa Stribling), because, as one of Robert's apparent ex-love interests, she had a potential motive too, despite showing no sort of ill will toward him or Ann.

I also liked how the movie kept me guessing a bit about whether or not someone was actually trying to kill Ann. The first incident (a poisonous spider) could have been an accident and, since she was already sick, she could have easily imagined someone was trying to poison her. Since her state of mind was questionable, both from a fever and from her uneasiness from the moment she arrived, it was very possible Ann was just overreacting.

The only thing I'm disappointed about when it came to this movie is the decision not to explain what happened to Robert's mom. Since her death was a mystery (officially, she died of a fever, but none of his aunts liked her either), it was very possible she was murdered. However, the movie never really answers that and I really wish it did, especially since her death was one of the things that made Ann suspicious.